Swansea Bay tourism businesses have been given top tips on how to make the most of the Internet.
Scores of businesses attended a conference in the George Hall to find out how they can benefit from the official Swansea, Mumbles and Gower destination website.
The conference helped showcase www.visitswanseabay.com in the build-up to the current half-term break.
Businesses were shown a live demonstration that illustrated how recent improvements to the website have seen its popularity soar. Some of the improvements include a new layout, fresh content, more interactivity and extra resources to make planning a trip to Swansea Bay easier than ever.
Swansea Council has also made the most of social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Trip Advisor as leading marketing tools to ensure the official Swansea Bay destination website reaches new and wider audiences.
Statistics show more visitors than ever now visit the website with some of its pages attracting over 4,000 views since the middle of February.
Each tourism business that attended the conference also has their own webpage and experts were on hand to show them how they can drive more internet traffic their way.
Cllr Graham Thomas, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: “The internet plays a key part in the decision-making process when choosing a holiday, planning how to get there and what to do when you arrive. The web is now often the only tool employed when planning a short break or longer stay so it’s vitally important we keep up to date with technology here in Swansea Bay,”
Ian Harding-Jones, General Manager of the Ramada Hotel in Swansea, was at the conference.
He said: “I was hugely impressed by the quality and professionalism that has gone into what is undoubtedly a very slick looking website. It showcases Swansea and the surrounding areas in a very presentable format and, more importantly, it’s user-friendly and informative.
“I’m sure many local people as well as potential visitors from far and wide will find the website of interest.”
Take a look at www.visitswanseabay.com for more information.
